Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

I will take the Deputy's questions in reverse order. On the question of fees, the application to the High Court was made by the Central Bank, which appointed the special manager to look after the credit union and set his fees. I acknowledge the Deputy's concerns, however, and the Minister and I take the view that, even though this is the first special manager to be appointed, the fees appear excessive. Ultimately, it is for the Central Bank to work out a fair arrangement and pay a rate for the scale of work involved. This case involves a substantial credit union. These fees will have to be reviewed but that will have to be done in the first instance by the Central Bank and the special manager.

On the resolution fund, when the legislation passed through both Houses it became clear that not only credit unions but also other financial institutions would have to contribute. I understand that will happen in 2012. The initial €250 million was provided by the Government but the objective is to increase the fund in 2012. I will revert to the Deputy regarding when that will happen.

It would not be useful for me to comment on the scale of consolidation before we see the final report. It is inevitable that some form of consolidation will occur. At the least, back office staff from a number of credit unions could be merged centrally or regionally to allow for greater consolidation in certain areas.

On the estimate of €500 million to €1 billion which the Minister outlined in the Seanad, these are still the ballpark figures. We will be in a stronger position when the full report of the Credit Union Commission has been published late in March. This will be a busy year for the credit union sector from a legislative perspective because we have given a guarantee that legislation will be in place by the end of the year and we are working with the commission to ensure that happens. The comments and observations from Deputies will be very useful in that context.

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